Jaguar Land Rover in talks with BMW, Ford about battery plant – report

According to the Sunday Times, executives from JLR have met with counterparts from Ford and BMW to discuss the possibility of jointly building and operating an automotive battery plant with ability to fulfil the needs of "several hundred thousand [electric] vehicles".

When contacted by Automotive News Europe, all three companies declined to confirm the report. JLR stated that it doesn't comment on rumour, while a Ford spokesperson said that the company works with other car makers across a variety of areas, but chooses to keep "these discussions private for competitive reasons".

BMW denied that it was talking to British automaker about joint battery production. It's understood that the two luxury car makers are in talks about other matters, with a report last week claiming that BMW will supply its next-generation 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 for use in various Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles.

According to Automobile, JLR has once again scrapped plans to build a production version of the C-X75 concept, and a successor to the XK coupe and convertible.

With these models off the table, the company will concentrate on developing a new five-door coupe-style range-topping EV for 2018 that will be sold alongside the XJ, at least in the short term.

This will reportedly followed up by a new, more affordable EV SUV in 2019.

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